When a stock hits a fresh low, it can either signal a dirt cheap dream stock or a dreadful stock to avoid. Separating the wheat from the chaff is difficult, but finding well-run companies at bargain-basement prices is a great way to accumulate a fortune over the long run.

With that in mind, we'll use the aggregate intelligence of the 110,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS to see what the community is saying about stocks hitting 52-week lows today. The community's approval (signified by four- and five-star ratings) could indicate that further research is in order.

Here are three such stocks:

Company

Today’s Low

Industry

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Fools Saying Outperform

iShares MSCI Spain Index (ETF) (NYSE:EWP)

$50.44

Closed-End Fund - Equity

97 of 111

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (ADR) (NYSE:BBV)

$17.11

Foreign Regional Banks

173 of 182

IRSA Inversiones Representaciones (ADR) (NYSE:IRS)

$9.62

Real Estate Development

161 of 170

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of Aug. 14, 2008.

Five-star closed-end fund - equity companies:

  • POWERSHS DB MULTI SECT COMM (AMEX:DBO): Stock price is 73% higher than last year.
  • POWERSHS DB MULTI SECT COMM (AMEX:DBE): Stock price is 62% higher than last year.

Five-star foreign regional banks companies:

  • Banco Bradesco S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:BBD): Stock price is 20% higher than last year.
  • First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP): Stock price is 11% higher than last year.